NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is pulling his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that’s helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s minority Liberals in power.
In a video posted on social media Wednesday, Singh says he’s decided to cut ties with the governing party ahead of the fall sitting of Parliament because he thinks the Liberals are “too weak” and “too selfish” to fight for the middle class and stop the Conservatives.
“Today I notified the prime minister that I have ripped up the Supply and Confidence Agreement,” Singh says. “The Liberals have let people down. They don’t deserve another chance from Canadians.”
“They cannot be the change, they cannot restore the hope, they cannot stop the Conservatives. But we can,” Singh says in the video, setting up the next election as a choice between his party and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
The two-party pact was first signed in March 2022, and was set to expire in June 2025.
The deal was designed to inject stability into the minority Parliament, with the NDP agreeing to support the Liberals on confidence votes in exchange for progress on longstanding progressive policies.
Going forward, this means the Liberals will have to look for political support on a case-by-case basis on key votes, such as budgets, in order to stay afloat and stave off a potential election.
This major political announcement comes with just a week and a half to go before Parliament resumes, and less than a week before Singh is scheduled to meet with his caucus to plot strategy for the fall sitting.
NDP decided before Poilievre push: sources
According to NDP sources speaking on background, Singh and his caucus arrived at a consensus that they would get out of the deal, earlier this summer.
Sources said the NDP came to this decision – and made the video announcing it – ahead of Poilievre coming out last week to push Singh to pull out of the two-party pact.
Poilievre’s pitch was for Singh to side with the Conservatives and vote non-confidence in the government when the House of Commons resumes in an effort to try and force an early election this fall, rather than wait until the fixed election date of October 2025. At the time, NDP House Leader Peter Julian told reporters that “leaving the deal is always on the table for Jagmeet Singh.”
The sources CTV News spoke to said the NDP pulling out of the deal doesn’t immediately mean Singh is ready to push for an election, but the party is also aware of its current standing in the polls.
It would take more votes than the Conservatives and New Democrats have to see Trudeau’s Liberal government and its 154 MPs fall on a vote of non-confidence.
Based on what they were hearing at the doors, there was also a desire for the New Democrats to sever their ties with Trudeau ahead of a key Sept. 16 federal byelection in Montreal where the party is fighting to win a Liberal seat.
Deal was to last until June, main policies achieved
In the years since the deal was secured, the federal government with the help of the NDP has advanced a series of policies.
Among what has been accomplished is a national dental care program, the first phase of a national pharmacare policy, anti-scab legislation and paid sick leave for federally-regulated workers.
And while other policies are still in the works, when looking through the pages of the agreement, there was arguably little left to finalize over the months that were left in the deal.
Left outstanding are a series of electoral reform-related initiatives that are still working through the House with amendments ahead, as well as implementing a safe long-term care act.
The NDP sources told CTV News that the prescribed leadership and oversight group meetings baked into the deal have not been productive for months, citing animosity between the PMO and senior New Democrats.
At the Liberal cabinet retreat last week, Government House Leader Karina Gould told reporters that she was “fairly confident” the agreement will hold through to the mutually agreed upon expiry date in June 2025.
“It’s a strong agreement,” she said.
This is a breaking news story, more to come…
With files from CTV News’ Chief Political Correspondent Vassy Kapelos